Semitrailer catches fire at gas station

DWIGHT – A semitrailer carrying about $1 million in audio and visual equipment caught fire while stopped at a gas station in Dwight early Thursday morning.

The Dwight Fire Protection District was called to Loves Truck Stop on Route 47 about 5:45 a.m., Deputy Fire Chief Justin Dyer said.

The cause of the fire is under investigation, he said, but it appears there was a malfunction of the brakes.

“The 53-foot [trailer] was fully involved on arrival,” Dyer said.

People traveling by the gas station Thursday morning could see smoke and flames from the burning truck.

“On my way to work this morning, I noticed a lot of smoke and I could see the fire at the Love’s station, it was pretty bright,” Kathy Woods of Dwight said. “The smoke had a horrible odor to it and my car filled up with the smell right away. I wasn’t sure what was happening, but there were plenty of firefighters there handling the situation.”

Woods is an employee of Shaw Media, which publishes the Morris Daily Herald.

The truck driver had stopped for gas and after pumping a tire on the truck exploded, Dyer said. The truck driver pulled the truck away from the pump and was going to separate the truck from the trailer when another tire blew and the fire started.

No one was injured in the incident. Firefighters were on scene for about five hours, but had the fire under control in about 15 minutes, he said.

The truck was shipping audio and visual equipment so it is placed at about a $1 million loss, Dyer said.